Major Problems with Buick Rainier Derived from Complaints & Recalls

Learn about the common problems with a used Buick Rainier to avoid purchasing a bad year of the model.

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Best and Worst Years for Buick Rainier

Explore the chart showing how many complaints have been filed for each year of Buick Rainier.

Model Year	Complaints
2007 Rainier	36
2006 Rainier	83
2005 Rainier	101
2004 Rainier	158

Worst 3 Buick Rainier complaints

2004 Buick Rainier FRONTAL Victims: 3 Mileage: 23000 miles

2004 Buick Rainier AIR BAGS Victims: 3 Mileage: 52000 miles

2005 Buick Rainier SERVICE BRAKES Victims: 2 Mileage: 84120 miles

Browse Buick Rainier complaints by category

Problems with ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE and EXTERIOR LIGHTING are the most frequent issues recorded by the NHTSA from Buick Rainier owners.

Problem Category	Number of Problems
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM short circuit in electrical system caused overheating which caused door locks and power windows to smoke produce odor in car...	102 ~ 77776 miles
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE tl* the contact owns a 2007 buick rainier. the contact stated that while driving 50 mph the vehicle stalled without...	61 ~ 58778 miles
EXTERIOR LIGHTING my recall was jan 2015 that low beam head lights goes off . mine are off all the time. no...	43 ~ 83183 miles
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM speedometer started sticking and eventually stopped working completely. i am having a hard time but from what i can tell...	33 ~ 49793 miles
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL at highway speeds (50-60 mph) accelerator became inoperative...i.e. no connection with engine. used "resume" button on cruise control to speed	21 ~ 45378 miles
SUSPENSION tl* the contact owns a 2007 buick rainier. the contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph the wheels suddenly locked...	18 ~ 93496 miles
AIR BAGS tl* the contact owns a 2006 buick rainer. the contact stated that while driving 35 mph the airb ags deployed...	17 ~ 79077 miles
POWER TRAIN buick rainier 2007 with only 45000 miles and the transmission line are corroded soo bad they are leaking. unbelieable!! the	15 ~ 63469 miles
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM the fuel gauge stopped working and the check engine light came on at about 65k miles in february 2009. i...	12 ~ 77988 miles
UNKNOWN OR OTHER unable to open driver side door from outside in any manner. starting to also happen to back passenger on driver	11 ~ 65867 miles
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL we own a 2006 buick rainier. the contact received a recall noticed for nhtsa campaign id number: 12v406000 (visibility:...	10 ~ 64799 miles
FUEL GAUGE SYSTEM > STORAGE > FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER after filling engine to full under normal driving conditions fuel sensor dropped all the way down to empty and the...	10 ~ 52651 miles
STEERING tl* the contact owns a 2007 buick rainier. the contact stated that the steering wheel emitted a squeaking noise while...	10 ~ 41222 miles
ENGINE my husband was driving down the highway and the vehicle just stopped he coasted to side of road and tried	9 ~ 62585 miles
HEADLIGHTS > EXTERIOR LIGHTING headlights go from bright to dim 4-7 times/minute when driving. dealer replaced alternator did not help. this will happen on	9 ~ 15843 miles
VISIBILITY/WIPER windshield wipers started acting erratically while i was driving in completely dry weather. the wipers would turn on and off...	8 ~ 66875 miles
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER fuel gauge reading inaccurate. with a full tank when starting and fuel level gauge slowing showing empty knowing i have...	8 ~ 68852 miles
STRUCTURE design fault - air pump is mounted low on the frame of 2005 buick rainier. on 10/30/07 it failed and...	8 ~ 23399 miles
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION > POWER TRAIN possible fire hazard and accident due to oil cooler line corroding out. normal driving. repair and replacement of oil lines.	7 ~ 33458 miles
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING dt*: the contact stated since july 13 2006 the vehicle stalled without warning at speeds below 20 mph. the vehicle...	7 ~ 45558 miles
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES driver's door module power door lock and power window switches function intermittently and became inoperative. i took it to dealership...	6 ~ 88707 miles
POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS > VISIBILITY tl* the contact owns a 2007 buick rainer. the contact stated that he received notification of nhtsa campaign id number:...	5 ~ 36766 miles
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC (1) complete brake job w/rotors and drums replaced i was told i had been driving with the emergency brake on...	5 ~ 57016 miles
INTERIOR/UNDER DASH > WIRING > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM tl* the contact owned a 2006 buick rainier. while driving approximately 55 mph there were smoke and flames underneath the...	4 ~ 25747 miles
ENGINE > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING i was third in line waiting to pull out of a parking lot in peoria az in my 2005 buick...	4 ~ 11824 miles
SEAT BELTS front passenger side seatbelt malfunction locks up and can not put seat belt on. *tr...	4 ~ 71750 miles
VISIBILITY tl* the contact owns a 2006 buick rainier. while driving 40 mph the vehicle jerked violently without warning. in addition...	3 ~ 68377 miles
SERVICE BRAKES driving on freeway engaged in normal breaking and wheels locked up and brakes no longer worked. i did not have...	3 ~ 121373 miles
DOOR > BODY > STRUCTURE i bought my 2006 buick rainier in march of 2011 and about 3 months later the right rear passenger door...	3 ~ 57667 miles
FRONT > SUSPENSION we are having a problem with a shuddering or rumble coming from the front wheels of our buick rainier awd...	3 ~ 21333 miles
INTERIOR LIGHTING instrument panel hard to read during twi-light when head lights are on. .k. during daylight and complete dark. he silver	3 ~ 333 miles
TIRES on february 18 2005 approximately 6:25 am was traveling west on quail meadow drive approximately 65 feet from stop sign...	3 ~ 30406 miles
TRANSFER CASE (4-WHEEL DRIVE) > POWER TRAIN while driving 65 mph the vehicle swayed from side to side. the dashboard indicator lights flashed and the consumer found...	3 ~ 12333 miles
FAN/MOTOR > DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM > VISIBILITY tl* the contact owns a 2006 buick rainier. the contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph the air conditioner...	2 ~ 103500 miles
BODY > STRUCTURE unable to open driver side door from outside in any manner. this is starting to happen to other doors. *tr...	2 ~ 120500 miles
SEAT HEATER/COOLER > FRONT ASSEMBLY > SEATS (1) complete brake job w/rotors and drums replaced i was told i had been driving with the emergency brake on...	2 ~ 23000 miles
DRIVELINE > POWER TRAIN car felt like someone bumped the back end of it while at a stopped position or that it is shifting...	2 ~ 32000 miles
LATCH > DOORS > LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES tl* the contact owns a 2007 buick rainier. while parked the contact stated that the front drivers side door would...	2 ~ 30500 miles
ROTOR > DISC > FOUNDATION COMPONENTS brakes failed due to defective brake rotors. *tr...	2 ~ 9619 miles
UNDERBODY SHIELDS > FRAME AND MEMBERS > STRUCTURE step on brake grinding noise would not stop this happened over 2 wk time car at dealer now pop noise...	2 ~ 46750 miles
IGNITION > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM driving back to findlay ohio from lima ohio on interstate 75 and the car just stopped nothing worked - no...	1
SEATS the heated seat got hot and was unable to turn off. the leather seat burnt through from the heating unit...	1 ~ 61357 miles
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY we own a 2006 buick rainier. the contact received a recall noticed for nhtsa campaign id number: 12v406000 (visibility:...	1 ~ 47829 miles
OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL > OTHER > EQUIPMENT (1) complete brake job w/rotors and drums replaced i was told i had been driving with the emergency brake on...	1 ~ 30000 miles
REAR > SUSPENSION having difficulty with driving vehicle. seemed to be over road. several evaluations at car dealership different fixes without resolutions. finally...	1 ~ 100000 miles
FILLER PIPE AND CAP > TANK ASSEMBLY > STORAGE tl* the contact owns a 2004 buick rainier. the welding from the filler neck had become loose and caused a...	1 ~ 144000 miles
EQUIPMENT the speedometer has completely and instantly stopped working. to the best my knowledge the odometer appears to be working but...	1 ~ 39000 miles
TEMPORARY/EMERGENCY SPARE TIRE > TIRES tl*the contact owns a 2007 buick rainier. the vehicle has four michelin 17 inch 245 tires. in the contact's owner's...	1
PADS > DISC > FOUNDATION COMPONENTS tl*the contact owns a 2005 buick rainier. while driving and applying the brakes the contact heard a loud noise coming...	1 ~ 19237 miles
EMISSION CONTROL > EXHAUST SYSTEM > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING with vehicle temperature at normal range in park and at normal idle when i push on the gas pedal the...	1 ~ 46403 miles
POWER STEERING FLUID > HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST > STEERING purchased vehicle which had 34 000 mile on it. it now has 46 403 and have had to fill the...	1 ~ 46403 miles
GASOLINE > ENGINE > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING at highway speeds (50-60 mph) accelerator became inoperative...i.e. no connection with engine. used "resume" button on cruise control to speed	1 ~ 10000 miles
BEAD > TIRES all four tires continuously deflate. within 3 - 4 days the tire pressure can get as low as 10 lbs...	1 ~ 6050 miles
PEDALS AND LINKAGES > SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC dt: the consumer bought a new buick rainier in 2005 and she was very pleased with the vehicle except for...	1 ~ 149 miles
HYDRAULIC > POWER ASSIST > SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC step on brake grinding noise would not stop this happened over 2 wk time car at dealer now pop noise...	1 ~ 11200 miles
FRONTAL > AIR BAGS i was stopped at an intersection waiting for the traffic light to change. one vehicle was in front of me....	1 ~ 23000 miles
SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE > FRONTAL > AIR BAGS i was stopped at an intersection waiting for the traffic light to change. one vehicle was in front of me....	1 ~ 23000 miles
INFLATOR MODULE > DRIVER SIDE > FRONTAL i was stopped at an intersection waiting for the traffic light to change. one vehicle was in front of me....	1 ~ 23000 miles
SIDE/WINDOW > AIR BAGS on february 18 2005 approximately 6:25 am was traveling west on quail meadow drive approximately 65 feet from stop sign...	1 ~ 167 miles
ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP > SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC while driving 35 mph consumer applied the brakes and pedal went to the floor but stopped. vehicle was hit from...	1
BRAKE LIGHTS > EXTERIOR LIGHTING while driving 35 mph consumer applied the brakes and pedal went to the floor but stopped. vehicle was hit from...	1
POWER ADJUST > FRONT ASSEMBLY > SEATS power memory seat went to exit position in vehicle and will not return to driving position forcing vehicle to be...	1 ~ 4100 miles
FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS > WIRING > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM in september 2004 while driving the fuse box blew and caught on fire. on january 14 2005 the dashboard completely	1 ~ 6500 miles
12V/24V/48V BATTERY > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM the vehicle's engine has been sputtering missing and surging since it was purchased. *nm the vehicle was taken to the...	1
RACK AND PINION > STEERING the vehicle's engine has been sputtering missing and surging since it was purchased. *nm the vehicle was taken to the...	1
DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM > VISIBILITY windshield icing even with full defroster at moderate air temperature/air duct too small for width of windshield dealership will not	1 ~ 3650 miles
DIFFERENTIAL UNIT > DRIVELINE > POWER TRAIN a 2004 buick rainier with full time 4 whell drive and locking rear differential which my wife and i bought...	1 ~ 600 miles

FAQ

What year Buick Rainier is the most reliable?

Speaking of the models produced in the last 4 years, Buick Rainier models of 2007, 2006, 2005 year of manufacture have had the least number of complaints.

What year was a bad year for Buick Rainier?

Buick Rainier models of 2004 and 2005 are probably the years to be avoided like the plague due to a higher than an average number of issues reported.

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